Italy 1919-45 Domestic Policies - Education

1. Italy 1919-45Domestic Policies - Education Mussolini made no big changes to schooling during the 1920’s He did appoint an intellectual, Gentile, as Education Minister. Gentile believed in having fewer but better schools, ginnasio/liceo (grammar schools) were encouraged. Standards were set up for examinations. Illiteracy was largely ignored and women were discriminated against. Attendance fell by 100,000 during the first four years of Fascist rule.

2. Domestic Policies - Youth • Gentile left his post in July 1924 and his system was dismantled, but it was not until the 1930’s that the Fascists began imposing their own model of education. • The government did begin to impose what was to be taught in schools and introduced a standard textbook, the libro unico, which told children their duties as Fascists. • Centralisation was begun and teacher’s were forced to take an oath of loyalty to the state.

3. Bottai and the School Charter • All the changes were capped by Bottai’s 1939 School Charter. • Bottai said he wanted to: • ‘finish forever the age of the agnostic [sceptical, critical] school, which was indifferent to political life…We decisively wish a Fascist school, a Fascist pedagogy [principles of teaching], Fascist teaching to create the Fascist man.’ • Bottai tried to smash class barriers and set up special schools for the children of peasants and craftsmen. Manual work also became incorporated into the curriculum. • With these changes the Fascists tried to mould the next generation of Fascists but war intervened to prevent the experiment from reaching fruition.

4. Government Control • The Fascists’ control over the education system declined the further up the system you went, they were more concerned with adding new courses such as military training and Fascist culture. • The same was true over the control over teachers, who were forced to take an oath from 1929. • It was elementary teachers who were controlled the most and secondary and university teachers remained freer.

5. Main Changes • Curriculum changes Religion • RE became compulsory in elementary schools from 1923 and in secondary schools from 1929. Cult of Mussolini • Portraits of Mussolini were placed in all classrooms. • All pupils were given a notebook with Mussolini on the cover and a free copy of the life of Mussolini, by Pini. • The school day began with the raising of the tricolour flag and prayers were undertaken twice daily; in addition to this there were also songs about Mussolini.

6. Main Changes (Continued) • Curriculum changes Government Intervention • In 1926 101 out of 317 history texts were banned. • In 1928 the libro unico was introduced in each year of elementary school and it covered all subjects. • Official course plans were introduced. • All dialects were banned. • In 1935 military education was introduced in secondary schools and it covered history, weapons and tactics. • In 1936 lessons in Fascist culture were introduced in elementary schools. • In 1938 Anti-Semitism was taught in schools.

7. Control over teachers • From 1925 public workers who disagreed with the views of the government were able to be removed. • From 1929 teachers took an oath of loyalty. • In 1931 all teachers associations were merged into a Fascist Association. Membership became compulsory in 1937. It held indoctrination courses which teachers had to do to gain promotion. • In 1931-2 professors were forced to take the loyalty oath; 11 out of 1250 refused whilst others took it with crossed fingers! • From 1933 all new teachers and professors had to be party members. • From 1934 teachers had to wear Fascist uniforms for official occasions and were encouraged to join the ONB (Fascist Youth Organisation) as leaders. • In 1938 racial laws were introduced and Jewish teachers and students removed.

8. Universities • Universities were largely left alone as long as they conformed. • By the late 1930’s many university students were likely to be sympathetic to the regime as they had been through the Fascist elementary school system and all the indoctrination that entailed.